Partners
by RangerHeron
Summary: Just a Tiva one-shot. Tension at work is rising between Tony and Ziva, one night Ziva goes to Tony's appartement to try to talk it out.


**This is just a little one-shot I came up with. Also, minor spoiler for The Godfather Part I. Please review and tell me what you think!**

Things were winding down at the office. The team had caught another murderer. The victim's wife had been having an affair with another petty officer, and they'd been caught in the act by the victim. They'd started fighting and, well, things turned ugly.

Tony tucked all his things in his desk and grabbed his gear. He headed for the elevator. If he made it out, he'd have a long weekend ahead of him.

Ziva's eyes stayed on him as he strode towards the elevator. She'd been acting touchy the past several days.

He assumed it was because he and EJ were together. But she'd been with CI-Ray for, like, a couple months.

Tony pressed the button, and the elevator dinged and slid open a moment later.

It wasn't like he and Ziva were exclusive. Or together. They were partners, that was all.

"Partners." He repeated as the elevator descended.

~A~A~A~

Tony slid his key in the lock, and turned. The door swung open.

A lonely silence hung in the apartment. He set his bag down and shut the door.

No matter how many girls he dated, friends he had, it always came back to this. Just him, in his apartment. He glanced to his movie collection. So many great classics, new blockbusters, future classics. All his favorite actors.

He grabbed _The Godfather Part I _off the shelf and slipped it in.

As the music started, and the story began, Tony's mind eased. The silence was gone, he was gone. There was only the world of the movie, that he'd been sucked into and made a part of.

~A~A~A~

Ziva paced restlessly in her apartment. Surely Tony would be asleep by now, logically. She started for her bedroom.

She stopped in the doorway. No. He was still awake. Somehow she knew. They had spent too much time together, too many late night stakeouts, too many cases, for her to not know. He was awake.

But should she go? They were only partners. Just partners. Partners would not go to each other's apartment in the middle of the night, for no reason.

Well not no reason.

She needed to wait. If she went they would get into an argument. One neither could win, really.

The new girl's face sprung to mind. EJ Barrett. Ziva's jaw clenched tight.

Ziva strode into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. "Jealousy is not an emotion you should feel for your partner, Ziva." She said into the mirror. But the emotions did not listen. The jealousy kept swirling round and round.

She struck the sink, letting out a growl.

Yes, she had been dating Ray, but he had not been in the office every day. Talking to everyone, having Ducky and Abby examine evidence.

Ray had not been invading. And besides. That was over. She was no longer dating Ray.

Ziva started for the front door. She and Tony could not keep not talking. Or Gibbs would notice something.

Or she and Tony would not be able to continue working together, eventually. It was better to get everything out.

What if he was at EJ's? She came to a stop. No, EJ was out of town tracking down a lead on her case. Good.

Ziva rushed out of her apartment, and to the car like a human thunderstorm, and raced down the empty roads towards Tony's place.

~A~A~A~

Tony had just made it to the scene where Michael Corleone's car exploded with his first wife inside, when a knock sounded at his door.

He paused it and rose. They knocked again, louder.

"I'm coming! Hold on." The door opened to reveal Ziva. "Oh. What's up? Did I-"

"We need to talk." Ziva stepped around him and inside.

He shut the door. "Okay. What about? It can't wait till, I don't know, the morning?"

Ziva hung her jacket up. "No. It cannot." she faced him.

Tony sighed. "What's got you all in a twist?"

"Why are you seeing EJ?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Because I like her."

Ziva huffed. "No,I know that. But, why are you doing this? Why are we doing this?"

He chewed over her words a moment. "I don't know. What are we doing even?"

She started pacing. "Barely speaking for one thing."

"We seem to be talking right now." He crossed his arms.

She stopped and faced him. "No we are not! If we do not work this out, Gibbs will figure it out, and the cat will be out of the flag."

"Out of the bag. And what if Gibbs knew? There's nothing between us anymore. What'll he do? Stare us down, slap me in the back of the head, tell us we messed up and better not do it again?" His voice started to rise, he stepped closer.

Her eyes narrowed. "Either way, we must quit this. This refusing to be normal, civilized people."

"I'm trying! But when do we ever get an opportunity to talk? Without anyone snooping or eavesdropping?" Tony ran his hand through his hair.

Ziva crossed her arms.

He stopped. She stood there in a bright shaft of light cutting through his living room from a streetlight outside.

He took a step towards her. "You know I'll always care for you?" He whispered and reached out to brush her hair back.

She stepped closer. "Yes."

Her arms slid around him, and he cupped her face. "We're supposed to be partners." she murmured

"That doesn't matter right now." he leaned closer.

"It is supposed to." she tilted her head up. "But I do not care right now."

Then they were kissing.

And when it came round next monday at work, they were back to normal. Just partners, just working together, just friends. Supposed to mean nothing more to each other than that. For then, but maybe not forever.

**'kay, just so you know, I am a Christian. And I don't necessarily fully approve of things I make characters do. This story was just an idea of what could've happened. **


End file.
